Chapter 495: What Banana?

Perspective shift.

When San Yue Qi grabbed Lin and rushed into the mall entrance, the cries of the Monkeys behind them still echoed in their ears.

Jiaojiao Jiaojiao Jiaojiao Jiaojiao Jiaojiao Jiaojiao—!!!

She sprinted up to the second floor in one breath, then barreled into a corridor, finally pulled open a door marked "Staff Passage" and slipped inside.

The door shut behind them, and the Monkeys' cries were finally cut off outside.

San Yue Qi set Lin down, then leaned against the wall and slid to sit on the floor, panting heavily.

"Huh... Huh... Huh..."

Lin collapsed flat on the ground, like a dehydrated fish.

The two of them gasped like that in the dark stairwell for a full five minutes.

Finally, San Yue Qi recovered enough first.

She propped herself up, squeezed through the door crack to peek outside— the corridor was empty, no sign of the Monkeys.

"Should… have shaken them off," she exhaled.

Lin also slowly sat up, leaning against the wall, eyes unfocused.

"No... can't go on..."

Lin said weakly, "I really... really can't run any more..."

San Yue Qi was also exhausted, but after all she was a Heroic Spirit, recovering faster than Lin.

"It's okay... for now... temporarily safe..."

She panted, "Those Monkeys... seem not to have chased in..."

Then remembering something, she asked, "Lin, are you okay? Any injuries?"

Lin shook her head.

Then Lin spoke, "San Yue Jie, what should we do now?"

San Yue Qi scratched her head.

She didn't know what to do either.

The Holy Grail War, she had taken part in twice, but had never faced a situation like this.

Before, it was at most fighting other Servants, never like this time— a mirror world, Shadow Assassin, and thousands of Monkeys.

"Let's rest for a bit first," she said, "once our stamina recovers a little, we can..."

Before she could finish, she suddenly stopped.

Because she heard Lin speaking.

No, it wasn't what Lin said, but the way Lin spoke—

Lin panted, "This day... running, jumping, getting hit... my Tohsaka family's face... has been completely lost banana..."

Banana?

San Yue Qi blinked.

"Lin, what did you just say?"

Lin looked up blankly, "I said... my Tohsaka family's face has been completely lost banana... what's with banana?"

San Yue Qi: "..."

She stared at Lin with wide eyes, her expression gradually turning subtle.

"Lin, do you know what you add at the end of your sentences?"

Lin blinked, "What did I add banana?"

"Banana."

"... banana?"

"Yes, banana."

Lin fell silent.

She opened her mouth, trying to say something, but swallowed it back. Then she attempted to say:

"The weather is really nice today banana?"

San Yue Qi placed a hand on her forehead.

Lin covered her mouth, her eyes filled with terror.

"I... how did I... become like this banana?!"

"You added banana again!"

"I can't control banana!!!"

Lin was so frantic she almost cried, but no matter how hard she tried, every sentence automatically ended with that damned "banana" character.

San Yue Qi looked at her and suddenly felt a vague familiarity.

(This scene... seems like I've seen it somewhere...)

She tried hard to recall.

Black Tower Space Station... when we first arrived at Black Tower Space Station... something similar seemed to have happened...

At that time, it seemed to be some kind of... virus?

Everyone in the Space Station was shouting "Jiaojiao Jiaojiao Jiaojiao", even Little Black Tower got infected, and in the end it was Black Tower Lady who intervened to resolve it.

"This is..."

San Yue Qi slapped her thigh, "Banana Virus!"

Lin stared wide-eyed, "What banana?!"

"It's the kind that makes people speak with banana! It spreads via some method... a language virus!"

San Yue Qi explained, "I've seen it! That time was terrible, the whole person was going banana to banana, and even I accidentally got caught!"

Lin's face turned even whiter.

"W‑will I also become those Monkeys, banana?!"

San Yue Qi quickly waved her hand: "No, no! It shouldn't happen! Those Monkeys are Monkeys, you're human, at most you just speak with banana, you won't turn into a Monkey!"

Lin slightly breathed a sigh of relief.

But soon her brow furrowed again: "But like this… how can I meet people, banana… the Tohsaka Family's face… really lost its shine, banana…"

San Yue Qi comforted, "It's fine, it's fine, I'm here! At worst we can find a way to solve it!"

She said that outwardly, but inside she really had no clue.

That Black Tower Space Station incident was resolved only when Black Tower Lady intervened personally.

Now Black Tower Lady is gone again, she's a half‑baked Assassin, what method could she have?

(Oh right!)

San Yue Qi suddenly thought of an idea.

She can make Time Reversal!

Clockboy had said that she could rewind to a previously recorded time point.

Around seven in the morning, they hadn't left yet, hadn't encountered that group of Monkeys—if they rewound to that moment, could they avoid all this?

But the problem is…

Does rewinding have a cost?

She slipped her hand into her pocket and poked the Clockboy inside.

"Tick?"

Clockboy's little head peeked out from the pocket edge, "Fen Mao, why the Tick?"

San Yue Qi lowered her voice and asked, "That Time Reversal, if we rewind several hours, what side effects might there be?"

Clockboy tilted his head, and the hands on the dial spun two rounds.

"Tick… I don't know either… I haven't tried rewinding this long, Tick… it might consume a lot, might make you a bit dizzy, but probably won't kill you, Tick…"

San Yue Qi: "…Your answer is way too unreliable."

"Tick! I'm just a clock, not a manual!"

San Yue Qi was speechless.

Forget it, let's not think about this for now.

She stood up, opened the stairwell door, and cautiously peeked outside.

The mall was very quiet.

The elevators were out of service, the shops had their lights off, only the green emergency indicator lights were flickering.

"Let's go, let's be careful." San Yue Qi called to Lin.

Lin stood up, and the two walked out of the stairwell one after the other.

The mall was eerily silent, only their own footsteps echoed in the vast space.

Passing a clothing store, San Yue Qi saw a mannequin in the window and thought it was a real person, nearly firing a shot.

The two stuck to the wall, moving forward cautiously.

"Why is there no one here, banana?" Lin whispered.

San Yue Qi shook her head, indicating she didn't know.

The two passed through the clothing area, walked past the cosmetics counter, and arrived at the entrance of a game hall.

Inside the game hall it was dim, only a few machine screens were lit, flashing with multicolored light.

San Yue Qi glanced casually—

Then she stopped in her tracks.

In the game hall, there was a silhouette.

The person faced away from them, standing in front of a claw machine.

From the build, he was an adult male, wearing black clothes, his golden hair standing out in the dim light.

San Yue Qi squinted, trying to see the person's outline.

Tall stature, golden short hair—

Lin also saw it, whispering, "Someone, banana?"

San Yue Qi nodded.

She hesitated a moment, then spoke a greeting:

"Um… hello?"

The person gave no response.

San Yue Qi called out again, "Excuse me, do you know what's happening here?"

The person still gave no response.

But his hand moved.

Then he slowly turned around.

At that moment—

"Boom—!!!"